It was one of those weeks where you didn’t know whether to cry tears of joy, or sorrow, or relief, or anger.
Consecutive days in the Western Cape High Court saw two self-confessed child killers being sentenced to two life term sentences each for the murder and rape of two toddlers.
First, bringing an end to one of the most sensational trials, Mortimer Saunders was finally locked up for snuffing out the life of three-year-old Courtney Pieters of Elsies River in 2017.
Then Willie Simons was put away for his sick crimes against two-year-old Zaakierah Hendricks in Manenberg in 2016.
Now, before you react to these sentences, first let the sheer evil and depravity of these crimes wash over you for a moment.
Yes, sadly, this is the society that we live in today. Where literally on a daily basis, adult monsters in our communities are caged for violating and slaughtering our own young.
But this is not a discussion about our morality and conscience as a society.
That’s a lecture for another day.
Let’s look at the punishment meted out for these most heinous of crimes.
Well, short of the death penalty, you don’t get more harsh than this.
Two consecutive life terms means Saunders will only be eligible for parole after 50 years.
Two concurrent maximum sentences for Simons means he’ll serve at least 25 years behind bars.
No time off for good behaviour.
Look, you can’t fault the judges’ rulings here. They’ve thrown the kitchen sink at these lowlifes.
And it is the right message to send to society during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign.
So well done. It’s good to know that the wheels of justice are turning for the perpetrators - as well as for the victims and their families.
... in some cases, at least.
Shaylynn Arendse
Clearly not in the case of Mogamat Rafiek Hayners.
What is this guy still doing on the streets?
First, he was arrested for culpable homicide on 1 October.
This after he allegedly killed Shaylynn Arendse, 6, and her nanny Maureen Abrahams in a hit -and-run incident.
Then, just six weeks after being released on bail of R5 000, Hayners was busted again on 13 November.
This time he and three others were nabbed by the Hawks at a depot for allegedly being in possession of tik and mandrax worth R8.9 million.
And AGAIN he was set free - on R50 000 bail in the Somerset West Court.
The families of the victims are furious! Munier is furious, everyone is furious!
How the hell can a court release a suspect who has shown that he will be arrested for more crimes if he is let out of jail?
WTF? No!
It is clear that this guy is bad news and will get up to no good the longer is on the outside.
Hayners does not deserve the benefit of the doubt. He needs to be locked up - ASAP!